Yes, feeling a little low tonight as I think of my brother Michael. Taken away from us many years ago now, but still very present. He was hit by a drunken driver on his way home after work. The driver ran away immediately afterwards. Saw an old picture a couple of days ago and it only just dawned on me the impact this had on the whole family. In the picture, I felt we were a whole family that had never experienced any major grief. Life was good in our middle class lives. The person that fatally hit my brother was taken to court and we were award a small amount of money. He laughed when he was aloud to go free. He was the top tax man in the South West of Avon in the UK. Free mason and so they do take care of their own there. I knew nothing about this organisation when my father spoke of it, but being a Policeman my father and his colleagues knew who they were. My father was so disillusioned with this experience he retired early and moved to NZ where we still are. The happiness of family life never returned. My father stayed out working for most of the time and we the family felt abandoned in a new country actually living in a isolated spot with no transport. From being surrounded with family and friends from childhood security was always there. The locals seemed quite hostile to us being from the mother country, this is almost no existent now due to the number of Poms now living here. When I was older, I returned to the homeland to meet some of the Police who convinced me of the strength of Freemasons and their influence. I have been offered a couple of times here, but politely refused. Going back to the picture, the loss of my brother, the grief feels so overwhelming. I ask for prayer to help me to sleep, I will indeed pray. My brother was training to join the Household Cavalry. He was officer material the Sargent had said and we were all so proud of him. The man that killed him had gone back to the pub that night and created a cover story in case the police found him. Apologies for jumping like this, just not feeling too happy, and this feels like a good outlet. It has been a long time since anyone wrote on here, but just releasing some of the pain into cyber space just may be a good outlet for me right now. It is 1am in the morning and I must go to bed soon. The horror and grief this person has put us through. Never an apology, even by letter ;o(. Little things the number of my brothers private gun 19, his number 24499694. Memorised since the age of 12 years, I am now 46. The picture has him wearing his favourite jumper and the watch received on Christmas day - he was wearing both of these on the day he was taken from us. They obviously looked very different following this incident. My father once told me, that my brother apparently made a lot of noise - maybe not the best thing to know. We were not there for him, we were warm tucked away in our beds, whilst he suffered in agony. Can you hear my pain? My father has now passed away, my mother becoming more frail and the memories shared.............................. I miss you Michael. Thank you Ian

Greenhaven, I think it depends on how you grow up. My dad was a jack of all trades because his dad was that way. Well long story short I was a big tomboy and tagged along with many of my dad's jobs (metal fabrication, machine fixing, electrical, plumbing, small building jobs like decks and garages. Also at home I was the one that helped him bleed the breaks on his old 1952 1 ton box truck. I also helped him rotate the tires, change fluids and general maintenance. I was also in awe when he had to get out his engine lift (doesn't every one have one?) to put a new engine in his old truck. DH is also very handy because he grew up on a small farm and learned woodworking from his grandpa. I even felt competent enough the other day to fix my leaky S trap all by myself. I fixed up the front porch on our old house (have to sand again and paint since winter came early last fall. :( It will be pretty when I finish, and I can transplant my little seedlings outside. I agree with everyone else though that learning to be handy seems to be a lost art, and I told DH we will have to teach little DD everything we know. It won't be hard though since he loves to help with everything. I am looking forward to your second thread and hope it goes as well as the first one.

keswick_sniders I loved your poem, many parts of your journey into gardening although on a different level hit home with me, along with happy times there were some tough years to get through as I was growing up. Not only does a garden give one a lot of joy and pleasure, it, at least for me when I was very young without going into detail, grandpa's garden was a place where all my little worries and cares disappeared. There was a tall patch of grass behind his vegetable garden where on a sunny day I would lie down in amongst it and watch all the billowy clouds roll by, sometimes even take a nap, the warmth from the sun, a slight breeze, lovely. I used to have a huge library but have since passed many of my books on to up and coming gardeners, magazines, I had a bookcase full of them which I used to pull out and reread during the winter months, those have now been handed on to others. I've only been using a computer for a few years and still on the learning curve, very thankful I have DH to straighten it all up when I hit a snag but those times I'm happy to say are getting less frequent. I'm sure most of you have discovered not only does a garden give you satisfaction at creating beauty even if it is just in your own mind, like me, a garden is a great healer. For those of us dealing with disabilities, illness, hardships or even emotional issues that can wear one down a garden becomes a sanctuary where you can relax and toss all your cares to the wind at least for a little while, that is... until you look down at your favorite hosta that some damn slug has used as a smorgasbord the night before, but after a little searching you find the culprit, the crunching sound heard when you bring the heel of you boot down on the little sucker... ahhhh such satisfaction... all is right with the world again :). Gardens, so many different styles of gardening to choose from, it's a place where you can do your own thing, whether it's acreage, a few raised beds, containers or even just a simple window box to start with, welcome to the wonderful world of gardening, enjoy. WARNING!!! it can become very addictive LOL. Annette

This is so very thoughtful of you and he will love the quilt. Using the beach theme is perfect! I am sorry for you and your family. Cancer is such a terrible disease. May this quilt bring a smile and some comfort to him in this tragic time. I am looking for table runners, did you happen to find any one particular site that would had a lot of patterns for your quilt?